


Never For Nothing

by youaremysundown



Category: The Durrells (TV)
Genre: F/M, I had some feelings, and i know it's not perfect, and they definitely did it on the beach, but it's smut and kinda cute, i'm just really struggling with my emotions about this show, so i wrote a fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-06 21:59:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18859939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youaremysundown/pseuds/youaremysundown
Summary: “I’m coming back to you, once this is all over,” she quietly stated. She was determined to not let this be goodbye, rather a ‘see you later’. The confidence in her voice nearly fooled Spiros into thinking the tears had gone but looking in her eyes he could see that there were more threatening to spill. It was then that his own tears fell and she kissed them away.“We still have today,” she nuzzled her face into his neck and breathed in his familiar scent.





	1. We Still Have Today

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just going to apologise for this. I had a lot of feelings and tried to kind of fix it. I like the idea of them reuniting after the war but I didn't want them to be separated without having some fun first ;) 
> 
> Please enjoy. It's cute and smutty what more do you want.

“Has it all been for nothing?” Louisa asked, barely holding back the tears, “The waiting, the crying… the longing.” A stifled sob escaped as she looked into the eyes of the man she loved so dearly. 

“Would you change any of it for us never having met?” He stared back at her, eyes full of sorrow. He was breaking her heart again, only this time there would likely be no repairing it. He needed to stay for his children. As much as he loved the wonderful English woman in front of him, he couldn’t go with her. It pained him so much to do this to her again, he badly wanted a future with her, but life and the world were getting in the way.

Her arms went around his neck as more tears fell and he held her close, barely holding back his own tears. His legs went numb from the position they were sat in, but he held her anyway and rubbed his soothing hands up and down her back until she stopped crying. She pulled back and placed a hand over his cheek, stroking with her thumb. He turned his head inwards to place a kiss on the pulse point in her wrist and muttered her name.

“I will always love you,” he leaned forward and captured her lips in his once again, it felt like coming home. They moved perfectly in sync, her hands running up and down the braces of his trousers. He pulled her in closer, the kiss becoming more heated as her hands roamed his body, his grip tightening around her waist. He pulled back for air and rested his forehead against hers, letting them both catch their breath. 

“I’m coming back to you, once this is all over,” she quietly stated. She was determined to not let this be goodbye, rather a ‘see you later’. The confidence in her voice nearly fooled Spiros into thinking the tears had gone but looking in her eyes he could see that there were more threatening to spill. It was then that his own tears fell and she kissed them away. 

“We still have today,” she nuzzled her face into his neck and breathed in his familiar scent. The leather of his car, the faint earthy smell of dirt roads and something that was distinctly Spiros. She sighed and tried to commit as much of him to memory as possible so she would have something to think back to when she was alone in England. 

“Louisa…” he whispered and ran his hands up and down her arms. Hearing him say her name sent shivers up her spine and she pulled the braces over his shoulders without a second thought. Their eyes locked and she could see the desire threatening to consume her reflected in his gaze. She felt her mouth go dry, she wasn’t usually this ballsy but something about the way he looked at her and held her made her wild. So many reasons as to why she shouldn’t go ahead with this rushed around her brain, but they didn’t matter. She loved him, and this might be her last chance to show him just how much.

She took the top button of his shirt in between her fingers and slowly undid it. The next one followed, and the next and the next until Spiros’ shirt was hanging open, his torso laid bare to her. She ran her hands along his chest and down towards his stomach. His breath hitched, he grabbed her hands, stopping her in her tracks.

“Louisa…” it was breathy, a warning. If she continued now there would be no way they could stop. She didn’t care. She leaned forward and kissed him again, making it very clear what her intentions were. His arms came up around her back and he manoeuvred them so she was lying with her back on the sand and his weight above her. He pulled apart from her and stared at his Greek Goddess lying before him and smiled. Her lips were swollen, her face flushed and she looked ravishing.

Spiros took his time unbuttoning her shirt, his fingers lingering over the skin that every opened button exposed. He planted kisses on her stomach and trailed back up towards her lips, lingering at the valley between her breasts. Louisa sighed, the feel of his lips setting fire to her body from the inside. She could feel the moisture beginning to pool between her legs and she had never felt so needy in her life. She sat up to shuck off her shirt and unclasp her bra which Spiros happily removed for her and threw to the side. His lips quickly found a nipple and began sucking and kissing. Louisa gasped at the sensation and arched her back towards his mouth, desperate for more. 

“Spiros…” she sighed as he moved his hands over her hips, pulling her closer if that were even possible. She felt his desire pressing up against her stomach and it only spurred her on. She pushed the shirt off his shoulders which he removed without ever letting go of the nipple he had latched onto and her hands roamed the expanse of his chest, hovering over his stomach. He moved back up to kiss her lips as she began to play with the soft downy hairs just below his navel. 

“I love you, but we cannot do this in the sand,” he chuckled, a grin nearly splitting his face in two. It took all her willpower but she removed her hands from his stomach and dragged herself to her feet, giggling, picking up her discarded clothes she brushed off the sand from her behind, before reaching for Spiros’ hand. She dragged him to his taxi along the beach that he had partially sheltered with plants and spun round to face him. Her eyes bore into his as she reached for the button on his trousers, her nervous fingers lightly grazing against the tented fabric, to which Spiros shakily inhaled. Her hands rested on the waistband of his trousers almost too nervous to continue. Her lips found his neck and Spiros’ fingers unbuttoned her trousers and slid them over her hips. He sank down to his knees, ignoring the whine that left her as she was forced to pull her lips away from him, and pulled her trousers off her legs entirely, allowing her to use him to maintain her balance as she stepped out of the trousers and kicked them to the side. He stayed on his knees and kissed her thighs, muttering her name as if it was some kind of prayer. He looked up into her eyes, asking for permission, and with a nod of her head he planted a kiss to her core through her underwear and she gasped. His fingers hooked the waistband of her knickers and pulled them off swiftly, desperate to really touch her. 

His fingers caressed the soft curls between her legs and she moaned, she was so ready for him, she needed him. But Spiros had other plans. He grabbed her by the waist and gently picked her up and popped her on the bonnet of his car. Her eyes gazing down at him full of desire and confusion. He grinned and kissed the corner of her mouth before stroking between her legs and slipping a finger inside making her gasp.

“Oh.. Spiros…” Louisa panted, her head falling back, eyes closed, and her mouth hanging open slightly. He picked up the pace and added a second finger, using his thumb to trace gentle circles over her most sensitive spot. She couldn’t stop the stream of mumbling that came from her mouth no matter how hard she tried. His fingers stilled and she instinctively rocked her hips towards him trying to gain some more friction, to get a release from this delicious torture. She whined when he removed his fingers entirely but was pleasantly surprised to find them replaced with his lips and tongue. She nearly screamed in pleasure. His tongue occasionally dipping inside her and his mouth working her clit. Her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling his head further towards her, she couldn’t tell if she was hurting him and quite frankly she didn’t care, all she cared about was the intense pleasure she felt between her thighs.

She was starting to slide off the bonnet until Spiros’ hand came to rest on her hip, holding her in place. The contact only drove her further towards release. Spiros could feel it, the way she was rocking uncontrollably, the hitch in her breath, the groans she was making getting louder.

“Come for me Louisa,” he whispered. He wanted to see the look in her eyes as she came undone, “Look at me.” She opened her eyes and was immediately struck by how much she loved this man, and she knew how much he loved her in that second. His tongue was back on her and that paired with the revelation of love was enough to send her over the edge. She flooded his mouth and he stayed there until her moans turned to whimpers and then contented sighs. He kissed his way back up her body and planted a loving but firm kiss against her lips. 

“I love you, always,” he murmured so low that even if they weren’t alone nobody else would have heard. Louisa kissed him back feverishly and wrapped her legs around his waist. He staggered backwards and carried her to the back seat of the car and laid her down. He pulled his trousers and underwear off and hovered over her for a brief second. The look on her face was all the encouragement he needed as he pushed slowly into her and they both groaned. 

He held still for a moment, allowing her to get used to him, but also for his own benefit, he didn’t want this to be over before it started. A hand came up to caress his face, a sign for him to continue and he eased slowly out before pushing back in. He set up a slow but steady rhythm, making the pair of them pant and moan. He kissed her lovingly, trying to pour all the times he should have kissed her into that one kiss. He knew it was impossible but he hoped she knew that he would be trying to make up for it for the rest of his life. Before too long he felt Louisa contract around him. The flutter of her insides almost too much to bear. His hand reached in between them and he rubbed circles over her clit once more.

“Spiros!” She shouted as she clawed at his back, reaching her peak and then softly floating back down to Earth. The sound of his name on her lips like that was enough to send Spiros over the edge and he spilled inside her with his nose nuzzled into the space between her neck and shoulder. He mumbled her name over and over as she ran a hand down his back and kissed his temple. 

“I love you,” she whispered in his ear once he had regained some of his grip on reality, “And I will come back to you, I will come home.”


	2. Heartbreak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louisa gets ready to leave Corfu, and Spiros, behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready to cry kids, i did.

Spiros drove Louisa back to her house just in time for the end of the play. Leslie gave her a small smile as he saw the pair of them walking towards the crowd, realising where his mother had been. The tears still glistened in her eyes but Spiros’ hand on her back was a comfort of sorts. He hadn’t stopped touching her since they met on the beach, something she couldn’t tell if she was grateful for or not. Leslie called her up to the front of the crowd to say a few words and she fought back tears as she looked at all of their friends and thanked them for all they had done for them over the last four years. After saying her thanks and allowing the audience to applaud Larry’s effort she went back to Spiros who had moved over to the wall that overlooked the sea. The sea she would be sailing across come the morning.

He clasped her hand in his and stroked soothing motions like he had done so many times before. But this felt different. She gazed up at him through her lashes and he smiled sadly at her before kissing her knuckles and lowering their joined hands so they were resting between both their bodies, publicly acknowledging their affection; as if the entirety of Corfu didn’t already know. 

Once all the guests had left, some even taking some of Gerry’s animals, Lugaretzia, Louisa and Spiros went about preparing a feast of sorts. Their last meal on Corfu. They shifted the table that usually lay on the patio down the hill and into the bay. The meal was accompanied by laughter and nostalgia, but a suffocating undertone of sadness. Lugaretzia wept over the loss of her favourite Durrell child Leslie. Theo hugged Gerry and promised to write for as long as he was able about any new discoveries he found. Margo hugged Spiros goodbye and then gently nudged him in the direction of her mother. He pulled her into his embrace and whispered her name in her ear. Tears began to sting her eyes and she pulled away. 

“Stay with me tonight… please” she whispered after placing a gentle and quick kiss to his soft lips. He nodded slowly and rubbed up and down her arms in an attempt to reassure her, even though he knew it would do no good. He was as heartbroken as she was and there was no pretending that he could fix it. 

As the sun set, the children made their way back inside, Lugaretzia made to leave for home with Theo walking her partway, but Louisa and Spiros lingered on the jetty taking in the tranquillity and the beauty of the bay. They sat there until the crickets began chirping, her head resting on his shoulder as he stroked her hand and kissed her forehead occasionally. She didn’t want to move for fear of breaking the spell, hoping that if she could remain still time would stop and she would never have to leave this paradise and the man she had come to love so deeply it pained her to think of letting him go tomorrow morning. 

“We should go inside, you are getting cold,” he stirred her from her thoughts and gently tugged on her hand to pull her up. She hadn’t even noticed she had started to shiver but allowed herself to be draped in Spiros’ coat and led back up to the house. 

There was no light present in the house, save for the one in the kitchen guiding them, which meant all her children had gone to sleep. Spiros crossed the threshold and made to go upstairs but stopped abruptly.

“I don’t know which one is your bedroom…” he whispered quietly, smiling a little. She giggled a little and took the lead, trying to be as quiet as possible when walking past the doors to her children's bedrooms. She pushed her door open as quietly as possible and pulled Spiros by the hand until he was through the doorway. She shut the door behind them and turned round to see Spiros standing mere inches away from her, his face close enough that she could feel his breath on her face. 

“Spiros…” she let out breathily as his arms came up either side of her, effectively trapping her in his embrace against the door.

“Louisa…” he replied in the same tone as his face moved closer to hers. His lips met hers and the world melted away. Fireworks exploded behind her eyes for the dozenth time that day and she knew she would never grow tired of kissing this man. The kiss was tender and loving, all of the things that were too difficult to say being said through the feel of his lips on hers. She pulled back first, trying to catch her breath and he rested his forehead on hers. 

“We should make tonight count,” he said, a sly grin spreading across his features. She giggled and he kissed her neck, revelling in the laughter he was able to produce from her. It might be his favourite sound in the world. He began taking off his braces and unbuttoning his shirt before her hands moved to his trousers, a lot less nervous this time. He removed her shirt and picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist, and carried her over towards her bed where he laid her gently down and pulled her trousers from her legs before divesting himself of his own. 

Their lovemaking was gentle and soft, with mumblings of love and promises they knew they needed to keep. She called his name and felt the Earth shatter around her, pushing him over the edge too, panting her name. He lay above her for a minute catching his breath as she stroked his hair and wiped the sweat from his brow, marvelling at the fact that this man truly loved her and she was about to lose him to an ocean. He rolled from on top of her onto his side and pulled her close so they were facing each other. She sighed in contentment as he placed a quick kiss on her nose and she giggled at the absurdity of it. They had just made love like a pair of animals and here he was kissing her nose like she was a child. 

“I love your laugh,” he whispered as his eyes fixed on hers. She was glowing with happiness, but being close to him did that to her. She smiled at him and kissed him on the lips firmly as he started running his hands gently up and down her spine. 

“είσαι η αγάπη μου, η ζωή μου, τα πάντα μου,” he uttered, staring deep into her eyes, tears forming in his own. How was he supposed to let this woman go?

“Sorry, my Greek is a bit rusty…” she apologised, the corners of her mouth turning up in a small smile.

“You are my love, my life, my everything,” he stated, a tear falling down his face. She could feel the dam break as tears leaked from her eyes as she took in the gravity of what he had just said. Unsure of how to respond she covered his leg with her own, wanting all of them to be touching, and kissed him hard. She broke away sobbing and he shushed her and kissed the top of her head. They fell asleep like that, in each other's arms, with his lips against her head and her face buried in his chest. 

When she woke up, she was surrounded by the scent of him, having turned at some point in the night she was facing the other way and his arm was thrown over her waist, keeping her close. She wanted to wake up like this every morning. The happiness soon dissipated as she realised that this was the only time she would ever wake up like this. At least for the foreseeable future.  
Her stirring must have woken Spiros up as he began placing gentle kisses at the back of her neck. 

“Good morning,” he murmured, turning her over to face him. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and pulled back. His eyes were swimming with sorrow. This was going to hurt like hell for both of them and there was no denying it now.

As they packed up the last of their things and made their way to Spiros’ car, none of the children said a word, none of them seemed to even bat an eyelid at the fact that Spiros had obviously spent the night, but then it had been a long time coming. They drove down to the harbour in silence, Spiros’ hand on Louisa’s thigh the entire journey. She couldn’t quite bring herself to look at him for she knew she would burst into tears if she did. They all took in the glorious scenery of Corfu for the last time as they drove down to the harbour, stopping to pick Larry up so he could see his family off. He was going to stay, he was working as a spy and was hoping to help with the war effort in any way he could. He promised to write and to keep an eye on Spiros for as long as he could. The thought of Larry being here made Louisa’s heart ache. Her eldest son was putting himself in so much danger and she wished she could convince him to come back to England with her. 

As they arrived at the harbour, they were all very unwilling to leave the car. Larry piled the children out, taking the suitcases out from the back of the car and placing them on the dusty road. Louisa stayed a moment longer, hoping that if she wished hard enough there would be sudden news that would allow her to stay. Spiros removed her from her reverie by gliding his hand up to her cheek and cupping her face. 

“You have to go...to be safe,” he reminded her. The ever-encroaching threat hadn’t seemed like any real problem two days ago but now here she was having to leave her life behind to make the journey back to miserable England, where there was no sunshine, no joy and no Spiros. 

She smiled sadly and stepped out of the car. Gerry had run over to see Theo who had shown up to wish them a safe journey. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Florence and her husband who was wrangling with the baby. She knew she had to say goodbye to them too, but she didn’t want to leave Spiros quite yet. As if he knew what she was thinking he grabbed her hand and led her over to the Petrides’. 

“I’ll miss our conversations dearly, you were a true friend and I doubt very much that I will ever find another like you again,” Louisa said as she pulled Florence in for a firm hug. 

“I’ll write to you, it’ll be like you’ve never even left,” Florence reassured her, then whispered in her ear “and I’ll keep an eye on Spiros for you, make sure he doesn’t… well, you know.” 

Louisa smiled thankfully at her friend and turned her attention back to Spiros. The inevitable had been put off for far too long now. Their boat was about to set sail and she needed to be aboard it, for her children. 

“Are you sure you won’t come Spiros?” she whispered, barely holding back tears. He clutched her hands in his and kissed her knuckles.

“I would journey to the end of the Earth for you, Louisa, but I must stay for my children.” She expected this to be his answer but the words still stung. Tears fell down her cheeks and he wiped them away. 

“I want you to have this, so you remember me and your time on Corfu,” he said handing her his cap. She nodded her head shakily as the tears kept falling. 

“I don’t have anything to give to you,” she replied, grasping the cap in both her hands as if her life depended on it. 

“Just keep a promise...Come back to me.” He whispered, bringing her in tight for an embrace. Words failed her so she simply nodded her head, the tears still spilling from her eyes. He pulled back and kissed her again, long and deep. “I love you, Louisa.”

“I love you, Spiros,” she looked deep into his eyes, one hand letting go of the cap to caress his face.

“Go,” he whispered, choking back tears, though he did not want her to leave. His hands left her waist reluctantly and he walked her to the boat, her children had already taken their seats. He kissed her one last time before the boat pulled away from the dock and set off for England. She never looked away until Corfu was far out of sight and then she broke down, cradling Spiros’ cap to her chest. 

Spiros stared out at the ocean until he could no longer see the boat and then he got in his car and drove to the clifftop where he had liked to spend time with Louisa. He had held her as she cried there and laughed with her there. It reminded him of her and that was something no one could take away from him. It was there he sobbed for the greatest loss in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there will probably be one more chapter, just depends on when I actually get a chance to write. I mean I can't leave them heartbroken forever.


	3. Welcome Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louisa comes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's cute and exactly what they deserve.

Bournemouth hadn’t changed. The weather was still dreary, the people were still aloof and the way Louisa resented it remained. Although that was now more powerful than ever. She had spent the entire journey back to England utterly wrecked and inconsolable. She knew she had to stay strong for her children, but the months of pretending had caught up with her and she couldn’t keep it in any longer. Before she would have tried to hide her pain, now, after having Spiros so close to being hers forever, she couldn’t ignore the hurt in her heart at being torn away from him. Leslie and Margo had spent most of the journey looking after Gerry and worrying about their mother’s mental state, hoping she would snap out of it when they got back to Bournemouth and had to find somewhere to live. As much as they wanted to be mad at her for leaving them with this much responsibility they both knew that wasn’t fair. She tried to be strong for her children. They were the only thing getting her through this. That and the thought that perhaps, one day, she would return to her island and her love. Those were the only things that got her through the years to come.

  


Larry had written as often as he could, keeping the family updated about the situation regarding the war and his own wellbeing. He wrote separately to his mother, mostly about Spiros and how he was coping. The first letter had told her that Spiros had left his wife and she had kept the house in town. Spiros had moved into her old one. Larry had been worried about him, he was walking around a house full of ghosts and subjecting himself to enormous amounts of pain trying to keep the memories of better times alive. More letters followed, some from Florence and Theo as well as her eldest son, almost all of them telling the same story. The situation was worsening and Spiros was not his usual self. He would see his children as often as his wife allowed, when he would plaster a smile on his face, but when he thought people weren’t looking the facade would slip. He was unhappy and, as much as she hated herself for thinking it, she was glad. Glad that he was suffering with her. Louisa wept at the thought. She herself had turned back to gin to sleep at night, and throughout the day to numb the pain. If the children noticed it they didn’t say anything.

 

The letters eventually arrived less regularly and stopped altogether after the most heartbreaking one. Louisa sobbed for the better part of a week after learning what was happening on her beloved island. They had been invaded by the Italians. And Spiros had been conscripted. The world fell from beneath her, her vision went black and her limbs collapsed in on themselves. Violent sobs shook her body and her heart thudded loudly against her chest and in her ears. All other noise reduced to a faint buzzing. Leslie had picked her up and taken her to her room, determined that Gerry not see his mother like this. He held her as she sobbed and soaked through his shirt. She wasn’t able to tell him what was wrong, so he pried the letter from her trembling hands and read for himself. His own tears fell as he rubbed her arms up and down in reassurance, just as Spiros had done many times before. After crying herself to sleep Leslie carefully removed himself and went to show Margo the letter.

 

“What do we do?” he asked pacing up and down the kitchen.

 

“There isn’t much we can do.” He stopped pacing and stared at her intently. “I know you think we can help but this time we really can’t, it’s not safe to travel, and if Corfu is under Italian occupation it’s definitely not safe for us to be there. It’s a miracle that Larry even got this to us.”

 

He sighed. He knew she was right but he still wanted to do something to ease his mother’s heartache. It was then that he noticed the peeling at the corner of the letter. He snatched the letter from Margo and carefully pulled at it. The pages that had been carefully glued together around the edges slowly peeled apart, revealing a second letter, addressed to Louisa. Leslie bolted upstairs to wake his mother, leaving Margo open-mouthed in the kitchen.

 

“It’s for you!” He shouted at her, startling her awake and causing her to temporarily forget her surroundings.

 

“Spiros?” she asked in a dreamlike state. Her happiness shattered only a second later as she realised that she hadn’t in fact been wrapped in his arms. A tear fell from her eyes and she looked at her son as her world fell apart again. He handed her the letter.

 

“I don’t know who it’s from, but the fact that it was hidden means they had to sneak it out.”

 

Louisa stared at the letter in her hands, unsure if she could handle any more heartbreak, before throwing caution to the wind and peeling away the top letter completely. Leslie slowly left the room, giving his mother some privacy. She knew where to find him if she needed him. Louisa took a sharp intake of breath and looked at the letter. Her fingers caressed the words on the page, the letters, unjoined, slanted slightly to the right. It was him. It had to be. Her eyes filled with tears and she shakily drew breath before wiping her eyes and casting her gaze downwards to the paper in her hands:

 

_My Louisa,_

 

_I know you will be mad with me. For not writing and for joining the army. Please know I wanted to write everyday but it was not safe. Larry has helped me with this one because it is so important, he is risking a lot, which I am very grateful for. This might be the last and only letter you get from me so now I have to make it good. I know you would not want me putting myself in danger by joining the army, so I held off, as long as I could, but now I have to fight. I have to fight to keep our island safe, so you have a home to come back to. Try not to worry about me, I have no intention of dying without seeing you ever again. Besides I cannot be killed. But please promise me you will look after yourself. I need you to be your funny, beautiful self once this is all over. Soon you will be in my arms and we will be happy and together. Until then, please know I love you. I have always loved you, since the day we met, and I will always love you. I was a fool for letting my pride stand in the way of happiness. I wait for you to return to me my love._

 

_Yours forever,_

_Spiros_

 

Tears fell onto the page as she read it over and over again. Memories of their last day and night together flooded her brain with such clarity that it felt like it all happened yesterday rather than the two years it had been. She longed to be back in his embrace, feeling safe and loved. Curling herself into a ball she fell asleep with the vision of their reunion playing in her mind. Despite how entirely hopeless the current situation seemed, she knew that he was out there, loving her.

  


Louisa could barely sit still. Panic and excitement battling for dominance. She had been waiting seven years for this moment. The war was finally over and she was going home. She had wanted to jump on the next boat immediately but Leslie encouraged her to stay home for a little while longer until it was certain it was safe to travel. She delayed her plans for twelve months but couldn’t bare to wait any longer. She was going back to Corfu, back to home, back to Spiros.

 

Larry had sent her a letter once the war was over letting her know Spiros was alive and well. He had been shot  and had a few nasty scars but other than that he was unscathed. He had resumed living in her old house and was constantly asking about her. She had written him back telling him she would see him soon and they would never have to have any more farewells. The thought of it made her giddy. She had packed all her most precious things; a photo of her children, the one of her late husband, a piece of jewellery her children had bought her as a birthday present one year and Spiros’ cap. She had kept it close to her the entire time they had been separated and it had started to smell less and less like him and more like her dusty house but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She had a little piece of him and she cherished it. Her children all had their own lives now, Leslie was working on some venture with his new wife, Margo had opened a boarding house and was doing very well for herself. Gerry was working in a zoo, with his childhood dream of opening his own reignited. Louisa had done her duty of raising her children to be the best they could possibly be. Now was her own chance at happiness and she wasn’t going to let that pass her by.

 

Her children had seen her off, waving as the boat left the port. Although they were sad to see her go, they were comforted in the knowledge that she was leaving to be happy. The smile on her face as wide as it had ever been as she waved back to them from the boat. But now the nerves were playing up. What if he’s not the same? The thought kept racing through her mind. What if he wasn’t the same man she had fallen in love with so many years ago? What if she had been kidding herself into thinking he had loved her back as ferociously as she loved him?

 

She knew it was stupid but she was scared. She had uprooted herself again to chase a man across a continent that she hadn’t seen in nearly a decade. She chewed at her lip and wrung her hands as she thought of what to say to him when she laid eyes on him. She had heard horror stories of local men returning from war unrecognisable to their wives. Their faces were the same but their minds were different. Had Spiros become a different man? Surely Larry would have told her if that had been the case? But then how was he to know.

 

The boat docked at the harbour almost too quickly for Louisa’s liking. Absurd that she had been waiting so long for this moment and now she was nearly paralysed with fear at the thought of stepping off the boat and onto the island. She gathered her courage and disembarked, her hazel eyes seeking out the warm dark eyes of Spiros. He saw her first. Her hair darker and longer than when she left, it suited her. He smiled as he realised she was searching for him and walked towards her, his hands in his trouser pockets. Her eyes made contact with his and she grinned, eyes watering as she ran towards him, disregarding her luggage and ignoring the hat that flew off her head and into the ocean. He still looked the same, if not a little less muscular and a little thinner, with a smattering of grey hairs near his temple.

 

She ran into his arms and was lifted off her feet as he pulled her into his embrace. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched at the back of his neck. He placed her down gently and cupped her face in his hand, thumb stroking her falling tears away.

 

“Don’t cry Louisa, I’m here,” he whispered as he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

 

“I’m just so happy,” she grinned, gasping down her tears. He smiled at her and pressed his lips to hers for the first time in seven years. They were firm against hers but loving. His hand moved to her waist to pull her in closer and her fingers tangled at the hair at the nape of his neck. His tongue sought entrance to her mouth and she obliged, letting him drown in the taste of her.

 

Too soon they pulled apart, both gasping for breath. He smiled wickedly and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose, causing her to giggle like before.

 

“I have missed your laugh,” he said smiling, “I have missed you.”

 

She laughed again at that and kissed him swiftly on the lips before taking his hand and walking back to retrieve her abandoned luggage.

 

“Here, I almost forgot,” she said digging around in her suitcase, “I think you ought to have this back.” He laughed as she produced the cap that he had given to her in this exact spot all those years ago. He took it from her hands and popped it on his head.

 

“There, everything is as it should be!” she exclaimed excitedly. He bent to pick up a suitcase and wrapped his free arm around her waist as he escorted her from the docks to the car that was parked just outside the harbour. They drove the familiar roads in silence, Louisa taking in the views again, Spiros coming to grips with the reality that she was really here with him. Before long they had pulled up to the villa. Her old home.

 

“I hope you don’t mind but I did some work on the house,” Spiros said nervously as he unloaded the car and helped Louisa out of the passenger side. She smiled at him and shook her head. The house before her looked amazing. The walls looked clean and not like they were crumbling away. The windows looked brand new and the shutters were painted a gorgeous pastel blue colour that made the whole place looking endearing.

 

“I wanted you to come back to a home, and you deserve the finest things.” Spiros kissed the side of her neck and she moaned. He chuckled at the sound as he felt his own desire growing. His hands roamed over her body and she turned around in his embrace to face him.

 

“Spiros…” was all she managed to get out before his lips crashed into hers and he was leading her into the kitchen. Before she knew it, he had taken off her blouse and skirt and had lifted her onto the kitchen table. She took her time unbuttoning his shirt, in a desperate bid to slow this down, she wanted to savour every minute of their reuniting. His shirt slid off his shoulders and she grazed the scar with her thumb. A physical reminder of the horror he had been through and the pain that she had to endure not knowing if he was alright.

 

“It doesn’t hurt anymore” he murmured as he kissed her softly. He gazed down at her and watched as her hands reached for the buttons on his trousers. He groaned as her fingers grazed across the front of his crotch before grabbing her hands and stilling her movements. He brought her hands up to her lips and kissed them, as he had done so many times before, tears in his eyes.

 

“Louisa... I can’t believe you are here,” she smiled at him and watched as he kissed each of her knuckles. He stopped suddenly and looked in her eyes. “You are not wearing your ring?” He looked confused but she simply smiled.

 

“No,” was all she said before his lips were pressed against hers once more as they made love on the kitchen table. It was frenzied but loving as the longing from the past seven years spilled over and left them both wrecked. He had carried her upstairs to her bedroom, their bedroom, and made love to her over and over until the sun had set and the crickets were the only noise they could hear, other than their shallow breathing.

 

“ I love you,” she whispered, placing a kiss on his chest where his heart was thudding underneath the skin.

 

“I love you too,” he kissed the top of her head and pulled her tighter into his embrace as they both drifted off into the first peaceful sleep either of them had had in years. She was finally in the arms of the man she loved and she was going to spend the rest of her life there. She was finally home and she was never leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this, leave kudos and comment. it really does mean a lot. <3


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